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YOU are here : Home > Spinecare Topics > Options for Spine Treatments > Benefits and Risks of Back Surgery
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Options for Spine Treatments
Benefits and Risks of Back Surgery
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Benefits and Risks of Back Surgery
There is a greater risk of developing complications with operations that require instrumentation and fusion when compared to less complicated procedures such as the decompressive laminectomy and microdiscectomy. One of the most common risks associated with spine surgery is its failure to reduce pain.
There are unique risks associated with spine surgery, some of which can be very serious. The complications depend on the surgical approach. Potential complications include increased pain, chronic pain, physical disability and medical complications, additional spine surgery and in rare cases, death. Your attending surgeon should review the potential complications with you prior to your decision to have surgery and again prior to performing surgery. The discussion should be based on the specific procedures that are being recommended. Some of the potential direct complications of spine surgery are listed below. The following review is not meant to represent a comprehensive treatise of complications and therefore should not serve as a substitute for discussing potential risks with your attending spine specialist.
Anesthesia Complications
Spine surgery requires the use of anesthesia so the patient does not feel pain during the procedure. It is also used to reduce conscious or unconscious movement that could interfere with the operation. Anesthesia can be applied in one of two ways, either local or general. The majority of surgical procedures performed on the spine require the use of general anesthesia. General anesthesia leads to complete sedation. To accomplish this, the anesthesiologist delivers the quick acting anesthetic agent through an intravenous line (IV) and sedation is maintained through a variety of medications and anesthetic gases. Potential complications to an anesthesia can arise secondary to adverse reactions to medications, or due to underlying medical conditions.
Anesthesia affects how the lungs work and increases the risk of developing a lung infection. The use of anesthetic agents can also lead to nausea and vomiting. If this occurs it is usually effectively treated with medication. The tube inserted into the throat prior to surgery may cause soreness after surgery. In rare cases placement of the tube can damage the vocal cords.
To help achieve adequate sedation and to reduce the risk for complications the attending anesthesiologist monitors the patient’s vital signs such as respiration, blood pressure, pulse oximetry, heart rate and electrical heart activity (EKG). The effects of sedation can be reversed with other drugs or the patient will be allowed to wake up after the anesthetic agent has worn off.
There are unique risks associated with spine surgery, some of which can be very serious. The complications depend on the surgical approach. Potential complications include increased pain, chronic pain, physical disability and medical complications, additional spine surgery and in rare cases, death. Your attending surgeon should review the potential complications with you prior to your decision to have surgery and again prior to performing surgery. The discussion should be based on the specific procedures that are being recommended. Some of the potential direct complications of spine surgery are listed below. The following review is not meant to represent a comprehensive treatise of complications and therefore should not serve as a substitute for discussing potential risks with your attending spine specialist.
Anesthesia Complications
Spine surgery requires the use of anesthesia so the patient does not feel pain during the procedure. It is also used to reduce conscious or unconscious movement that could interfere with the operation. Anesthesia can be applied in one of two ways, either local or general. The majority of surgical procedures performed on the spine require the use of general anesthesia. General anesthesia leads to complete sedation. To accomplish this, the anesthesiologist delivers the quick acting anesthetic agent through an intravenous line (IV) and sedation is maintained through a variety of medications and anesthetic gases. Potential complications to an anesthesia can arise secondary to adverse reactions to medications, or due to underlying medical conditions.
Anesthesia affects how the lungs work and increases the risk of developing a lung infection. The use of anesthetic agents can also lead to nausea and vomiting. If this occurs it is usually effectively treated with medication. The tube inserted into the throat prior to surgery may cause soreness after surgery. In rare cases placement of the tube can damage the vocal cords.
To help achieve adequate sedation and to reduce the risk for complications the attending anesthesiologist monitors the patient’s vital signs such as respiration, blood pressure, pulse oximetry, heart rate and electrical heart activity (EKG). The effects of sedation can be reversed with other drugs or the patient will be allowed to wake up after the anesthetic agent has worn off.
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